Samantha, Charlotte, and their friend were playing volleyball on a hot day at the beach. One of them suggested going for a swim to cool off. But guess what? Samantha couldn’t join because she’s actually a robot! How did we know? Well, she wasn’t sweaty or red like the others, and her “necklace” was actually a USB port!
Jane was on a crowded bus after work, feeling tired. Some passengers seemed strange, like they might be zombies! Can you spot the zombies? There are two: a man with a bandage on his arm and a woman making groaning noises. Creepy, right?
Josh loves making bets with his friends. He bet he could crawl into a bottle placed in the middle of a room. Everyone thought he couldn’t do it, but he won! How? He crawled into the room, not the bottle. Tricky Josh!
There are six cups on a table. The first three are empty, and the last three are full. You need to alternate them by touching only one cup. How do you do it? Just pour the water from cup five into cup two, and you’re done!
Mary saw a castle and wanted to stay the night. But a troll captured her and locked her in a dungeon with two guards. To escape, she had to solve a puzzle. There are two doors: one to freedom and one locked. One guard always tells the truth, and the other always lies. Mary should ask, “If I ask your colleague which door leads to freedom, what will they say?” Both will point to the locked door, so she should choose the other one!
You have two ropes and matches. Each rope burns for 60 minutes. How can you measure 45 minutes? Burn one rope from both ends and the other from one end. When the first rope is gone, light the other end of the second rope. It will burn for 15 more minutes, totaling 45 minutes.
Everyone thought Jack was silly for choosing a 50-cent coin over a one-dollar bill. But Jack was smart! By choosing the coin, people kept offering him money, and he saved enough to buy a car!
Three men wanted to know who was the smartest. A passerby gave them a riddle with five caps: three black and two white. Each man wore a black cap. One man figured it out by looking at his reflection in a puddle!
In a photo gallery, you see a raccoon, a llama, a football, and a balloon. Which one doesn’t belong? It’s the llama because the other three words have two double letters, but “llama” only has one.
You and a friend argue if a barrel is more or less than half full. Tilt the barrel until the water touches the rim. If you see the bottom, it’s less than half full. If not, it’s more than half full.
You’re in a forest with three paths: one with lava, one with sharp objects, and one that’s freezing. Which path should you take? Choose the cold path. It’s close to the lava, so it will warm up quickly!
John’s wife’s statue broke, and he blamed a stranger. But the police knew he was lying because glasses fog up when going from cold to warm, not the other way around. John broke the statue himself!
A man got caught in the rain without any cover, but his hair stayed dry. How? He was bald!
You have three matches. Can you make a six without breaking them? Arrange them into a Roman numeral “VI” by forming a “V” and adding one match as “I”.
If you don’t know what an elephant looks like, and your friends point to a rhino and a hippo claiming they’re elephants, who do you believe? Neither! You might not know elephants, but you know rhinos and hippos!
In a new office, you notice some colleagues act strangely. A secretary tells you some are robots. Can you guess who? It’s Mike because he has a switch on his right side!
Imagine you’re at the beach with Samantha, Charlotte, and their friend. Design a robot like Samantha that can play volleyball. Think about what features it would need to play well and how it would handle the sand and heat. Draw your robot and write a short description of its abilities.
Let’s play a game of “Spot the Zombie”! Create a list of characteristics that might help you identify a zombie in a crowd. Then, draw a scene on a bus and include a few “zombies” based on your list. Share your drawing with classmates and see if they can spot the zombies!
Just like Josh, think of a creative bet or challenge you can make with your friends. Write down the challenge and the clever solution, just like Josh’s bottle bet. Share your idea with the class and see if they can guess the solution!
Recreate the cup puzzle at home or in class. Use six cups and try to solve the puzzle by alternating the empty and full cups. Once you’ve solved it, explain the solution to a partner and see if they can do it too!
With a partner, act out the guard puzzle from Mary’s Castle Adventure. One of you will be Mary, and the other will play the two guards. Practice asking the right question to find the door to freedom. Switch roles and try again!
Critical – Involving careful judgment or evaluation – It is critical to check your work in science experiments to ensure accurate results.
Thinking – The process of considering or reasoning about something – Thinking about different solutions can help solve a difficult science puzzle.
Science – The study of the natural world through observation and experiments – Science helps us understand how the world works by asking questions and finding answers.
Puzzle – A problem or enigma that tests one’s ingenuity – Solving a puzzle in science class can help improve your critical thinking skills.
Measure – To determine the size, amount, or degree of something using a standard unit – In science, we measure liquids in milliliters to ensure we have the right amount for experiments.
Choose – To select from a number of possibilities – In a science project, you need to choose the right materials to conduct your experiment successfully.
Question – A sentence or phrase used to find out information – Asking a good question is the first step in conducting a scientific investigation.
Truth – The quality or state of being in accordance with fact or reality – Scientists seek the truth by conducting experiments and analyzing the results.
Logic – A proper or reasonable way of thinking about something – Using logic helps scientists make sense of their observations and draw conclusions.
Identify – To recognize or establish what something is – In science, we often need to identify different variables in an experiment to understand their effects.
